Business & Macroeconomy
๐ง๐ผ Botswana has adjusted its currency strategy, allowing the pula to depreciate by 2.76% over the next year amid reduced global diamond demand. This is a steeper devaluation than the initially planned 1.51%.
๐ฐ๐ช Kenya faces mounting debt obligations, allocating $531 million for external debt repayment in July alone. Of this, $432 million is earmarked for Chinese loans funding the Standard Gauge Railway.
๐ฟ๐ฆ South Africa is losing $1.6 billion annually due to tax evasion linked to illicit cigarette sales, according to research backed by British American Tobaccoโs local division.
Climate & Energy
๐ฌ๐ญ Ghana commenced an upgrade of its Kumasi transmission line to triple power capacity to over 1,000 MVA. The $11 million project is supported by the EU and the French Development Agency.
๐ฆ๐ด Angola, alongside ExxonMobil and Sonangol, has extended production rights for the Block 15 deepwater asset, which has yielded 2.6 billion barrels of oil to date.
Geopolitics & Policy
๐ธ๐ณ Senegal’s Navy intercepted 201 migrants attempting to cross to Spainโs Canary Islands, highlighting the growing reliance on this perilous migration route.
๐ธ๐ด Somalia is investigating a suicide bombing at Mogadishuโs Jaalle Siyaad Military Academy. Al-Shabab claimed responsibility, alleging the attack targeted a Western training delegation.
๐ณ๐ฌ Nigeria recorded 2,266 deaths from insurgency and banditry in the first half of 2025, surpassing the 2024 total. Armed groups continue to exploit overstretched military resources across multiple regions.
๐ณ๐ฌ Nigeria is also a focal point of a Russian digital influence campaign, according to a French intelligence report, which links AI-driven disinformation to a pro-Kremlin network posing as independent African media.
๐ง๐ฏ Benin has adopted a hearts-and-minds strategy in its jihadist-threatened north, providing free veterinary care and schools to win local support and prevent extremist recruitment.
๐ธ๐ฉ Sudanโs Rapid Support Forces (RSF) killed at least eight civilians in a drone strike on a shelter in El Fasher, worsening humanitarian conditions amid a sustained siege of the North Darfur capital.
๐จ๐ฉ DRC and M23 rebels have opened truce negotiations in Qatar, following a June peace deal between DRC and Rwanda. Talks are aimed at broadening the scope of the existing agreement.
๐จ๐ฉ Kalemie, a strategic city in eastern DRC, remains under pressure from floods and displaced populations as conflict continues in nearby provinces despite a formal peace deal.
๐ฑ๐พ Libya faces renewed military tension in Tripoli. The UN has urged restraint, calling for withdrawal of newly deployed forces and adherence to existing security frameworks.
๐ช๐น Ethiopiaโs Amhara region is suffering from severe healthcare disruptions due to ongoing conflict, according to Doctors Without Borders, which has halted ambulance services amid rising insecurity.
๐ช๐น Tigrayan women’s groups are warning of renewed instability and demanding justice for wartime atrocities. Nearly one million remain displaced, with large parts of the region under continued occupation.
๐ธ๐ธ South Sudanโs Anyuak king, Cham Odiel Gora, marked Independence Day by urging peace and national unity ahead of the country’s first general elections in 2026.
๐จ๐ฎ Ivory Coast has charged a Malian politician with insulting President Alassane Ouattara, amid tense bilateral relations. The official was arrested over past remarks critical of Ouattara.
๐จ๐ฎ Political tensions are also growing domestically, with three youth leaders of the opposition PDCI party arrested, adding to a series of detentions just months before Octoberโs presidential election.
Tech & Deals
๐บ๐ฌ Ugandaโs Cold Solutions Kazi secured an $18 million debt facility from the Africa Go Green Fund, to build a sustainable cold-storage facility.
๐ธ๐ณ Senegalโs PAMECAS, a microfinance institution, received a $7 million risk-sharing facility from the IFC to expand access to credit for farmers and small businesses.
Natural Resources & Regulation
๐ฟ๐ผ Zimbabweโs lithium sector has surged, with export revenues exceeding $80 million in Q1 2025, up from just $1.8 million in 2018. However, concerns mount over Chinese exploitation, land degradation, and displacement.
๐ African ministers have adopted the Pan-African Resources Reporting Code (PARC) to standardize and improve transparency in mineral resource governance across the continent.
Source: semafor.com and africacenter.org
